I love memories of traveling with my family. Most of the places we traveled to as a family were places we could go in the family car. We would load up, take our set spots—parents in front and me and my brother and sister in back – and set off on a well-planned trek to memorable places like Colorado Springs, Point Clear (Alabama), Hilton Head (South Carolina), Washington D.C., or a state park. No matter where we went, the trips were carefully mapped out in pen on a paper map and the items we took were limited to a small backpack filled with things of our own choosing (no electronics or iPhone here) to entertain us. Travel was fun and exciting and pretty worry free for us—our biggest concern was often anticipating the next historical marker we might stop at or arguing over who got the best view out the window.
If there was any hard part of our vacation trips, for me, it was coming home. Even as a little kid, I dreaded the end of our fun-filled vacation. I can always remember my mom saying. “it is good to go, oh but it so good to come home.” That just didn’t resonate with me—why would being home be better than a vacation. Of course, I didn’t have to look forward to loads of dirty laundry, catching up on work and all the other adult responsibilities. As we traveled home the last day—I can remember being truly melancholy. Sometimes my stomach would hurt. I would even cry. On one of these trips, my mom took a serious moment and she said—”Listen, we have been on a great trip, we have had a wonderful time. Enjoy that memory and begin anticipating the next one. The anticipation, the journey that is as much fun, if not more fun, than the actual place.”
That one piece of advice changed a lot for me that day and it still frames how I travel now—I love the planning and thinking and anticipation that goes into travel. I love dreaming about the next place and the research that goes on about best things to do and see at each destination. Sometimes the trip lives up to the plans, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes the destination changes—but the joy that comes from thinking about the trip never fails.
To me, that is a lot like this life we lead. We are often concerned about getting to the place that God has planned for us—our spiritual destination where we are at peace in our lives, have a great understanding of God and are fulfilling all he has intended for us. But isn’t it as much about the journey? There is great joy in the planning, the anticipation, the learning we gain along the way.
In Proverbs 19:9 it says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” We can make many plans and anticipate the way we think things should go, but God is in charge and has the right plan in place for us—we can have comfort and joy in the journey to that ultimate destination. Even if there are changes or difficulties along the way, the Lord is directing our steps, we are there to appreciate, learn, and enjoy the trek.
– Lori Hall, Executive Director of Missions
